Classic biomarkers in exercise research for brain health promotion: From cells to communities.

Abstract

There is growing recognition that exercise is a potent stimulus for improving cognitive and brain function in both humans and rodents. While the mechanisms underlying the effect of exercise on cognition are very likely multifactorial, it is clear that the secretion and function of several classical factors are involved. Work done in rodents implicates several growth factors, including BDNF, IGF‐1, and VEGF, in the ability of exercise to induce neuroplastic changes within key brain regions associated with learning and memory. However, confirming these growth factors as mediators of exercise efficacy in human trials has been less successful. This is likely related to several things, including a disconnect between human and rodent exercise studies in terms of design and analysis. We suggest that biological sex alone and in interaction with important genetic polymorphisms implicated in cognitive decline as vital moderating factors that must be considered in the search for exercise biomarkers. A sex difference exists in exercise efficacy for cognition, with older females showing greater benefits for executive functions than older males. The ε4 variant of the apolipoprotein E (